Inkjet printing mechanisms, such as those used in desktop printers, use printheads which may shoot drops of liquid colorant, referred to generally herein as xe2x80x9cink,xe2x80x9d onto a page. Each printhead has very small nozzles through which the ink drops are fired. To print an image, the printhead is propelled back and forth across the page, shooting drops of ink in a desired pattern as it moves. The particular ink ejection mechanism within the printhead may take on a variety of different forms, such as those using piezo-electric or thermal printhead technology. For instance, two earlier thermal ink ejection mechanisms are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,278,584 and 4,683,481, both assigned to the present assignee, Hewlett-Packard Company. In a thermal inkjet system, a barrier layer containing ink channels and vaporization chambers is located between a nozzle orifice plate and a substrate layer. This substrate layer typically contains linear arrays of heater elements, such as resistors, which are energized to heat ink within the vaporization chambers. Upon heating, an ink droplet is ejected from a nozzle associated with the energized resistor. By selectively energizing the resistors as the printhead is moved across the page, the ink is expelled in a pattern on the print media to form a desired image (e.g., picture, chart or text).
To clean and protect the printhead, a xe2x80x9cservice stationxe2x80x9d mechanism can be mounted within the printer chassis so the printhead can be moved over the station for maintenance. For storage, or during non-printing periods, the service station may include a wiping system for wiping the printhead and/or a capping system which seals the printhead nozzles from contaminants and drying.
New applications for inkjet technologies may involve handheld, portable printing devices that print on non-traditional print media using fluids including ink and/or other fluids. Because these devices may xe2x80x9cprintxe2x80x9d using fluids other than ink, the devices shall be referred to herein as printjet devices. These applications may include cosmetics applicators, topical medical delivery devices, artist pens, and other such portable inkjet applicators. The mechanical and electrical complexity of traditional servo-driven service stations make them poorly suited for use in these new inexpensive, portable printjet application devices.
A capping system for a printhead comprises a handheld printjet printing device including a printhead and a cap including a flexible wiper. The cap is structured to be manually placed on the printing device so that the wiper wipes the printhead during placement thereon.